I have just read a post re Caravan Company Websites.
Seems to me that the bugbear we all have to deal with in the modern world is "DEREGULATION"
Banks deregulated, Eggs , Car sales, milk, vegetable growing and the list goes on and on and on.
The end result we the consumer have to deal with all the crap that happens afterwards.
Buying a caravan........ Hardly any rules and regulations are complied with by the manufacturers. Take the debacle with the siting of the number plate for one instance.
The tugs actual ability to tow the van within reasonable weight loads. Oh yes our vehicle can tow 3500kgs.
I hope this is not taken as a political post. It is meant to highlight the problems we all have in the modern world.
Purchasing a van and tug in the modern deregulated world is full of pitfalls we shouldn't have to deal with.
LLD said
11:17 AM May 1, 2016
Don't think deregulation is the problem here but I agree with what you say. You really to have to look at the find print and then be a mathematical genius to get things right. It's the differences in rules from state to state that annoys me the most. I worked in the motor industry for 27 years. Some of the silly things were:
Different engines in NSW because of emission rules on locally produced vehicles that rest of the country but no issues on a re-sale. And then it was really to reduce the smog on Sydney Harbour.
Different grey import rules in WA that the rest of the country but no issues on resale. Unsafe cars were being imported into WA and re-sold elsewhere.
After each state, manufacturers and importers agreed on car alarms being part of ADR with an implemantation date agreed to due to lead times fitting alarms to cars. WA decided to bring their date forward 6 months. Cost importers heaps as cars had to be retro fitted.
WA introduced 12 character registration plates when the national database only coped with 7.
Bruce and Bev said
12:11 PM May 1, 2016
The USA have it got it better than we do. The don't have as many Federal, State and local laws and regulations which make us a nanny state, but they do have strong consumer agencies who do take action with appropriate penalties for sellers who sell misleading or shonky products
Cupie said
12:43 PM May 1, 2016
Bruce and Bev wrote:
The USA have it got it better than we do. The don't have as many Federal, State and local laws and regulations which make us a nanny state, but they do have strong consumer agencies who do take action with appropriate penalties for sellers who sell misleading or shonky products
Not sure that I can agree that the USA have got it better. My experience was that their lack of regulation and control was only marginally better than the China schmazolle.
In some ways USA is so far ahead of the rest of the world but in others is so far behind .. eg. Just look at their currency. Paper notes that mostly look the same & coins down to ridiculous denominations .. & Dollar bills too. You even have to modify the way you wipe your bum. The water is so high in the toilet pan that you end up with wet paper in your hand (I bet you wanted to know that).
I like a well regulated society in the British fashion.
LLD said
01:34 PM May 1, 2016
The Yanks are all over the place. GST is run at the state level, car emission rules are different in California. The US has more variations from State to State than Australia does. In my 27 years in the motor industry, I dealt with yanks all the time and did a few assignments there. And the Yanks have to fill in Federal, State & Local tax returns.
Cupie. Similar high tide loos in Asia in the top hotels where the Yanks stay. The Yanks I worked with love our colourful bank notes. So easy to pick out.
03_Troopy said
06:08 PM May 1, 2016
I'm not sure that the water level is higher, I think it's a case of the pan being shallower. And have you noticed in some Asian countries, when you flush, the level rises considerably, before it going down the hole?
Not sure about their vehicle and caravan regs though.
Hey LLD, when the first plastic $10.00 notes came out, I was on a detachment to the Philippines. We could swap an Aussie $10 note for $20 green with the yanks. Unfortunately I only had half a dozen when I went over there...
Cupie said
08:06 PM May 1, 2016
I know that we / I are getting a bit off topic but ... I think that the Canadians have similar notes to us, but even more attractive. On the subject of taxes, it used to annoy me that the price displayed on the item in shops did not include the National, State or local taxes. Never sure if they were ripping me off as the rate of each changed from place to place .. I think that I first came across this in Canada.
Come to think .. Our Pollies recent thought bubble might have resulted in something like this here with States able to collect extra tax for education or whatever.
Fringe Dweller said
06:47 AM May 2, 2016
The two vans I have bought through dealers . He checked my braking , ball capacity & tow rating , before
letting me drive out the gate.
I go Stateside regularly , in fact I will be there twice this year . Yep . Biggest bugbear , you buy something.
The price is on it , say $3:50 , then comes "plus tax" , and can nearly cost 30 to 50 $s in tips a day.
But still a good place to visit & go back to.
LLD said
10:57 AM May 2, 2016
I thought my new tug / van were going OK. Everything was supposed to be checked on my new tug. Specifically asked the salesman to check the plug on my tug which I was told was done (had issues before even with factory fitted on a new vehicle). Then noticed an issue with my van brake light, worked randomly. Long messy story where the tug dealer refused to acknowledge that it was their problem. It was the aftermarket fitter's problem (except it was a factory fit - a bit of ignorance here). Very embarrassed when I asked the fitter about the electric problem and he said it was a factory or dock-side fit (which I thought too). The fitter checked the circuit (OK) but not the voltage. I've then finally figured out that I'm only getting 6v to the van for my tail & brake lights. Rang the tug dealer and gave him a serve. Hoping to get it fixed tomorrow.
I had a different tug when I picked up the van and all worked well.
FYI. A dock-side fit is where imported vehicles have options fitted that are in the brochure specifications but not actually factory fitted for various reasons. The option is fitted before it is wholesaled to the dealer while the vehicle is sometimes still in bond (duties not yet paid). The vehicle then arrives at the dealer as ordered.
Straya does a better job of pricing inc GST. Stateside it's annoying as the GST/VAT is added afterwards and paying cash you end up with a pocket full of coins by the end of the day. Fork out $2 for a can of drink and then get hit with anything from 12c to 30c VAT. It's so annoying.
Hylife said
10:13 PM May 4, 2016
There's a very valid reason that the USA has such an extremely low take up of electronic technology in shops such as computers and EFTPOS and why it is nigh on impossible to spend using notes larger than $20.
A cash society with small bills escapes the clutches of Uncle Sam asking for his cut.
Business associations perpetuate the recommendations of pricing "plus tax". The reasons are straight forward. You hand over extra coin and notes with which to pay tips and that is the workers main source of wages.
The shop owner pays peanuts and the shopper pays most of the staff wages. The staff only declare wages paid by their employer and get 3 to 4 times more in tips, tax free.
If the shop owner was to put in EFT facilities, not only would he have to pay for that hardware but then he would have to pay his staff a fair wage instead of you because it is less easy to wrangle tips from non-cash payments and all card payments leave an electronic record which means the owner pays more tax because his paperwork says he made more profits.
So, neither staff nor owners want electronic transactions nor transparent pricing.
I have just read a post re Caravan Company Websites.
Seems to me that the bugbear we all have to deal with in the modern world is "DEREGULATION"
Banks deregulated, Eggs , Car sales, milk, vegetable growing and the list goes on and on and on.
The end result we the consumer have to deal with all the crap that happens afterwards.
Buying a caravan........ Hardly any rules and regulations are complied with by the manufacturers. Take the debacle with the siting of the number plate for one instance.
The tugs actual ability to tow the van within reasonable weight loads. Oh yes our vehicle can tow 3500kgs.
I hope this is not taken as a political post. It is meant to highlight the problems we all have in the modern world.
Purchasing a van and tug in the modern deregulated world is full of pitfalls we shouldn't have to deal with.
Different engines in NSW because of emission rules on locally produced vehicles that rest of the country but no issues on a re-sale. And then it was really to reduce the smog on Sydney Harbour.
Different grey import rules in WA that the rest of the country but no issues on resale. Unsafe cars were being imported into WA and re-sold elsewhere.
After each state, manufacturers and importers agreed on car alarms being part of ADR with an implemantation date agreed to due to lead times fitting alarms to cars. WA decided to bring their date forward 6 months. Cost importers heaps as cars had to be retro fitted.
WA introduced 12 character registration plates when the national database only coped with 7.
Not sure that I can agree that the USA have got it better. My experience was that their lack of regulation and control was only marginally better than the China schmazolle.
In some ways USA is so far ahead of the rest of the world but in others is so far behind .. eg. Just look at their currency. Paper notes that mostly look the same & coins down to ridiculous denominations .. & Dollar bills too. You even have to modify the way you wipe your bum. The water is so high in the toilet pan that you end up with wet paper in your hand (I bet you wanted to know that).
I like a well regulated society in the British fashion.
Cupie. Similar high tide loos in Asia in the top hotels where the Yanks stay. The Yanks I worked with love our colourful bank notes. So easy to pick out.
Not sure about their vehicle and caravan regs though.
Hey LLD, when the first plastic $10.00 notes came out, I was on a detachment to the Philippines. We could swap an Aussie $10 note for $20 green with the yanks. Unfortunately I only had half a dozen when I went over there...
I know that we / I are getting a bit off topic but ... I think that the Canadians have similar notes to us, but even more attractive. On the subject of taxes, it used to annoy me that the price displayed on the item in shops did not include the National, State or local taxes. Never sure if they were ripping me off as the rate of each changed from place to place .. I think that I first came across this in Canada.
Come to think .. Our Pollies recent thought bubble might have resulted in something like this here with States able to collect extra tax for education or whatever.
The two vans I have bought through dealers . He checked my braking , ball capacity & tow rating , before
letting me drive out the gate.
I go Stateside regularly , in fact I will be there twice this year . Yep . Biggest bugbear , you buy something.
The price is on it , say $3:50 , then comes "plus tax" , and can nearly cost 30 to 50 $s in tips a day.
But still a good place to visit & go back to.
I had a different tug when I picked up the van and all worked well.
FYI. A dock-side fit is where imported vehicles have options fitted that are in the brochure specifications but not actually factory fitted for various reasons. The option is fitted before it is wholesaled to the dealer while the vehicle is sometimes still in bond (duties not yet paid). The vehicle then arrives at the dealer as ordered.
Straya does a better job of pricing inc GST. Stateside it's annoying as the GST/VAT is added afterwards and paying cash you end up with a pocket full of coins by the end of the day. Fork out $2 for a can of drink and then get hit with anything from 12c to 30c VAT. It's so annoying.
There's a very valid reason that the USA has such an extremely low take up of electronic technology in shops such as computers and EFTPOS and why it is nigh on impossible to spend using notes larger than $20.
A cash society with small bills escapes the clutches of Uncle Sam asking for his cut.
Business associations perpetuate the recommendations of pricing "plus tax". The reasons are straight forward. You hand over extra coin and notes with which to pay tips and that is the workers main source of wages.
The shop owner pays peanuts and the shopper pays most of the staff wages. The staff only declare wages paid by their employer and get 3 to 4 times more in tips, tax free.
If the shop owner was to put in EFT facilities, not only would he have to pay for that hardware but then he would have to pay his staff a fair wage instead of you because it is less easy to wrangle tips from non-cash payments and all card payments leave an electronic record which means the owner pays more tax because his paperwork says he made more profits.
So, neither staff nor owners want electronic transactions nor transparent pricing.